Health Insurance (Pathology Licensed Collection Centres) Principles 1999 (Cth)
Health Insurance (Pathology — Licensed Collection Centres) Principles 1999
I, MICHAEL WOOLDRIDGE, Minister for Health and Aged Care, acting under subsection 23DNB (3) of the Health Insurance Act 1973:
(a) revoke all previous Determinations made under the subsection; and
(b) determine the following Principles.
Dated 23 September 1999.
MICHAEL WOOLDRIDGE
Minister for Health and Aged Care
Health Insurance (Pathology — Licensed Collection Centres) Principles 1999
made under the
Health Insurance Act 1973
Contents
Page
1 Name of Principles 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Definitions 2
4 General principles 2
5 Units of entitlement: new entrants 3
6 Allocation for APA that is not a new entrant 4
7 Variation of allocation: acquisition and disposal of APA business 4
8 Number of LCCs allowed by unit of entitlement 6
Name of Principles
These Principles are the Health Insurance (Pathology — Licensed Collection Centres) Principles 1999.
Commencement
These Principles commence on gazettal.
Definitions
In these Principles:
Act means the Health Insurance Act 1973.
APA means an approved pathology authority.
application means an application under subsection 23DNB (1) or (2) of the Act for an allocation of units of entitlement.
business means the business of providing pathology services, and includes:
(a) the services provided by at least 1 LCC; and
(b) all of the units of entitlement allocated to the person that is the APA in relation to the business, whether or not the units are being used for holding licences.
LCC means a licensed collection centre as defined in Part IIA of the Act.
new entrant has the meaning given in section 5.
relevant period has the meaning it has in section 23DNB of the Act.
relevant year has the meaning it has in section 23DNB of the Act.
General principles
(1) These Principles are the principles with which the Minister must comply in performing duties under section 23DNB of the Act.
(2) Despite any other provision of these Principles, if an APA that applies for an allocation of units of entitlement:
(a) does not operate at least 1 accredited pathology laboratory; or
(b) operates an accredited pathology laboratory for which the category of accreditation specified as allocated to the laboratory under paragraph 23DN (2A) (b) of the Act is appropriate for a laboratory performing pathology services by or under the supervision of a medical practitioner for patients of the medical practitioner or of the medical practice to which the medical practitioner belongs;
the determination made in respect of the APA must be a determination, under paragraph 23DNB (1) (a) or (2) (a) of the Act, that the APA is not to be allocated any units of entitlement.
Units of entitlement: new entrants
(1)For these Principles, an APA that lodges an application for a relevant year or relevant period is a new entrant if:
(a) there was no allocation to the APA in force under paragraph 23DNB (1) (b) or (2) (b) of the Act when the application was lodged; and
(b) the APA does not own or control any accredited pathology laboratory that another APA previously owned or controlled and for which there was an allocation mentioned in paragraph (a); and
(c) since becoming an APA, the APA has not acquired any business of another APA for which there was an allocation mentioned in paragraph (a); and
(d) the APA does not conduct any operations connected in any way with the former operations of another APA or former APA for which there was an allocation mentioned in paragraph (a).
(2) For these Principles, an APA is not a new entrant if the APA:
(a) has previously been allocated units of entitlement:
(i) under this section; or
(ii) under a provision of similar effect to this section in an earlier Determination made under subsection 23DNB (3) of the Act; and
(b) in the period in which the units were intended to apply to the APA, the APA disposed of the business to which the units related.
(3)The Minister must:
(a) specify 2 as the number of units of entitlement to be allocated to a new entrant; and
(b) determine that the 2 units of entitlement apply to the new entrant for the relevant year or relevant period.
Allocation for APA that is not a new entrant
For an APA that is not a new entrant and that applies for an allocation of units for the relevant year commencing on 1 February 2000, the allocation of units must be the same as the number of units held by the APA on 31 January 2000.
Variation of allocation: acquisition and disposal of APA business
(1) If an APA (the acquiring APA) acquires business from 1 or more other APAs, the acquiring APA may request the Minister to vary the acquiring APA’s allocation of units from a specified date, not earlier than 2 weeks after the request is given to the Minister.
(2) The request must be in writing, and state:
(a) the name of each APA from which the acquiring APA acquired business; and
(b) the nature and extent of the business acquired; and
(c) if the acquiring APA has disposed of business in connection with the acquisition:
(i) the name of each APA to which the acquiring APA has disposed of the business; and
(ii) the nature and extent of the business disposed of.
(3) If the date of variation in the request is 1 February 2000, the Minister may include in the allocation for the acquiring APA, for the year starting on that date, a number of units that takes account, as far as practicable, of business acquired by the APA and business (if any) disposed of by the APA.
(4) If the date of variation in the request is after 1 February 2000, the Minister may:
(a) revoke the current allocation; and
(b) make a new allocation, for the remainder of the relevant year or relevant period to which the revoked allocation related, to take account, as far as practicable, of business acquired by the APA and business (if any) disposed of by the APA.
(5) If the Minister makes an allocation mentioned in subsection (3) or paragraph (4) (b), the Minister must, as far as practicable, alter correspondingly the allocation of units of entitlement to every APA:
(a) from which the acquiring APA acquired business; or
(b) to which the acquiring APA disposed of business;
so that the aggregate number of units of entitlement available to the acquiring APA and the other APAs concerned does not increase.
(6) The Minister must not make an allocation, or vary an allocation, if the allocation or variation is in relation only to a unit or units of entitlement in relation to which no collection centre has been granted a licence under section 23DNE of the Act.
(7) The Minister must not vary an allocation of units of entitlement for a year or a part of a year otherwise than:
(a) in accordance with this section; or
(b) to correct an error.
Number of LCCs allowed by unit of entitlement
(1)Column 2 of an item in Table 1 sets out the number of LCCs that an APA may operate:
(a) in a statistical local area referred to in column 1 of the table; and
(b) for each unit of entitlement allocated to the APA under paragraph 23DNB (1) (b) or (2) (b) of the Act.
Table 1
Statistical local area in which each LCC is to be located
Number of LCCs for 1 unit of entitlement
Capital City 1 Other Major Urban 1 Rural Major 1 Rural Other 3 Remote Major 1 Remote Other 3 Other Offshore Areas 1
(2) For subsection (1), a statistical local area (SLA) is an area described, using a title mentioned in column 1 of Table 1, in the document entitled ‘Rural/Remote Areas Classification’ published by the Department of Human Services and Health in January 1994.
Note The Rural/Remote Areas Classification document published by the Department of Human Services and Health in January 1994 should not be confused with a similar document published jointly by the Department of Human Services and Health and the Department of Primary Industries and Energy in November 1994.
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